OLLI Concert Series: RITUALS
OLLI Music Series: RITUALS
April 1, 2026
4:00 PM
In-Person at Katzen Arts Center in Abramson Recital Hall, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Registration Required; Light refreshments following performance
Soprano Laura Choi Stuart and pianist Tanya Blaich present a recital and discussion featuring the art songs of three contrasting composers: Charles Ives’ American experience of community and family, ancient rituals and passions of Reynaldo Hahn’s Études latines, and the intimate domestic rituals of William Bolcom’s vivid miniatures in Briefly It Enters. RITUALS is a full recital program shaped into an album-length narrative—song as ritual: memory repeated, language tasted…life, love, and death revealed in a few concentrated minutes.
Hailed as “a lyric soprano of ravishing quality” by the Boston Globe, Laura Choi Stuart has appeared on the mainstage with Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Boston, Annapolis Opera, Lake George Opera, the In Series, and Opera North in roles including Musetta, Adina, Gilda, Pamina, and Frasquita. Based in the Washington, DC area, Laura appears regularly with the Washington Bach Consort and the Washington Master Chorale, in addition to solo appearances with many area ensembles. Solo highlights of recent seasons include Messiah and St. Matthew Passion at the Washington National Cathedral, Brahms Requiem, a holiday celebration featuring Bach Cantata 51 and Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 with the New Orchestra of Washington, and works of Tavener and Mealor with Cantate.
Tanya Blaich is a pianist and teacher with particular sensitivity for and expertise in the song and collaborative piano repertoire. A faculty member of New England Conservatory's collaborative piano and voice departments since 2006, Blaich is co-coordinator of NEC’s Liederabend Series and teaches classes dedicated to the performance of song repertoire and in language diction and expression. Blaich has been praised for her unfailingly expressive and finely judged” playing (The Guardian) and her “distinct and refined palette and textures” and “unwaveringly attentive” ensemble (Opera Today).
Public Transportation
Metrorail & Metrobus:
From the Tenleytown/AU Metro Red Line stop, proceed east to 40th St. (behind Whole Foods and near Albemarle St.) for the AU Shuttle or M4 DC Metro bus. Disembark at Nebraska Avenue and Ward Circle to reach the museum.
Parking:
Important Parking Update: American University no longer offers free weekend or evening parking. Parking is $2.00 per hour in the Katzen Arts Center garage. Please use the kiosks located near the garage elevators. Both credit cards and cash are accepted. Remember your license plate number before leaving your car to pay. Please park in general parking spaces, not reserved or visitor parking.
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